Kolkata, Aug 19 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday refused to grant an urgent hearing to a plea by the Trinamool Congress faction led by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee, seeking permission to hold a rally here on the foundation day of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) next week.
The rebel-but-majority camp of the Trinamool moved the High Court after the police did not grant permission for their meeting on that day, with a request for an urgent hearing of their application.
However, a bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya said that the hearing will not be held on an urgent basis and listed their petition for next Friday.
The Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) foundation day is on August 28.
A tussle has already broken out between the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of Trinamool Congress and the Ritabrata Banerjee-led camp over holding the foundation day programme on that day. Both the camps want to hold the meeting at Mayo Road near the Gandhi statue. However, the Kolkata Police did not grant permission to either Trinamool camp to hold the meeting at the venue.
After not getting permission, the original but minority faction of Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee on Monday approached the Calcutta High Court seeking permission to hold a rally on August 28. Justice Bhattacharyya had admitted the petition and posted the matter for hearing on August 19.
A rally on the occasion of the foundation day of the TMCP is organised every year at the base of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Mayo Road in central Kolkata.
However, the situation is different this time. After the electoral debacle in the recent West Bengal Assembly polls, the party had split into three factions.
The majority of Trinamool’s Lok Sabha members have joined the National Citizens’ Party of India (NCPI). The second group is that of the ‘rebel but majority’ faction led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. The rest, though very few, are still with Mamata Banerjee.
–IANS
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